Hand guard



E. M. HARVEY Aug. 3o, 1949.

HANDGUARD 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 7, 1945 vlI Earl: Hn'rvy ma am ,rf-MLN www -Aug. 30; 1949. E, M', HARVEY 2,480,135

HANDGUARD `Filed July 7, 1945 v 2 Sheets-Sheet l2 rwa/Mof B112F11?. M. HtLTVEy Patented Aug. 3Q, 1949 HAND GUARD Earle M. Harvey, Springfield, Mass., assgnor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary ofV/ar ApplicationV July -7, 1945, Serial No. 603,730

' 9 claims. (o1. 42-75) (Granted undef the act of March 3, 1883. as

e Y l j The invention described herein may be manufactured and used'by or for the Government for governmental purposeswthout the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to improvements in lirevarms and isfdirected more particularly to the provisionof a novel handguard assembly especially adapted for use in connection with gasoperated firearms. K I

It has 'been usual in the prior art to provide Wood or plastic handguards in the form of a channel having a generally U-shaped cross-section; For example, the handguard of the U. S. rifle, c-al. .30 M1 has its lower side ordinarily open Vexposing the gas 'cylinderfzand operating rod, which are necessarily composed of.' metal and tend to `heat .upuponring of .the weapon, with the result that the hafndsof theV rer are Vfrequently burned or, at least, theconvenient and efdcient firing of the weapon is interfered with. 4

In the case of rines or weapons of other types where the construction is such thatthere is no objectionable exposure of metal, there has always stillvbeen the objection `that' the wood, ofl which handguards are commonly formed, becomes charred and after a reasonable amount of use, naturally wears away. Consequently, the guard becomes looselyassociated with the firearm.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a handguard assembly which overcomes thedisadvantages of both danger to the firer and objectionable charring of the wood. This is accomplished byproviding .a handguard body member which is of unitary .construction andwhich' `entirely, surrounds and protects the barrelI-and'operating rod assemblies while being spaced'irom said barrel and assemblies-except at its ends. That isvto say,rthebody member is so formed as to havewhat may be referred to as a split longitudinal bore, the upper portion of said bore being '-adapted'to receive the barrel parts of the weapon and the lower part thereof beingV ar#- ranged to receive' the gas cylinder, gas cylinder bracket, etc. The body member has its'inner surfacespaced from the contiguous outer'surfaces'of saidbarrel and gas cylinderywhereby to provide a heat-insulating air space therebetween. l

As will be presently disclosed', the construction of the handguard assembly of this invention also includes a metallic front band or stock ferrule of novel design. This both` reinforces the handguard vbody and protects it against any possible injury through forced contact or` other engagement with other metalparts of the weaponv while amended fipril 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) at the same time acting positively to maintain the handguard body out of contact with the barrel, gas cylinder, etc.,` as aforesaid.

The specific nature ofithe invention as Well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of .a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view 0f the blank from which a front ferrule embodying this invention is formed.

Y Fig. 2 is an elevational ferrule.

' Fig. 3 is a partial longitudinal section-al view on line 3 3 of Fig. 7` showing the mode of securing the front ferrule to the Wood handguard.

A Fig. 4 is a part elevational view of a rear handguard ferrule constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 5 is a sectional viewof Fig. 4 taken Ialong the plane 5 5.

v Fig. 6 is a rear elevational view of the rear handguard ferrule. l Y

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the barrel portion of a firearm, showing the handguard and front and rear ferrules in assembled relation. Y

Fig. 8 isa sectional View of Fig. 7 taken on the plane 8-8.

The body of the handguard is indicated generally bythe numeral Zand its outer configuration is substantially that of an oval. The body 2 is provided with a longitudinal bore 4 which extends entirely therethrough and in cross-section is approximately the shape of a pair of overlapping circles.

That is to say, the thickness of its opposite midsideportions is relatively greater than its upper and lower portions or in other words there are longitudinally-extending and oppositely-disposed ribs I on the inner sides of the bore. While such ribs serve to strengthen the body and obviate the possibility of its collapsing, as will be appreciated, their principal function is to form upper and lower bore portions I2 yand I4 which, While connected, are nevertheless spaced from .one another.

IThe ribs I0 are interiorly cut away just rearwardly of the said forward end face of the body soras to provide opposed slots 42. It is to be understood that there may be just one of such slots 42. .Y

The upperbore I2 isarranged to receive the barrel l0 of the weapon, Whle'the lower portion view of a iinished front In Fig. 1, there is shown a metal blank triomf which the front stock ferrule member 20 is preferably formed and said blank-consists essentiaTly of an oval-shaped piece of atfsheet--meta-l stock. This piece is punched, or out out, to have a pair of spaced and more or less cincularopenings /22 to accommodate barrel '0 and gas cylinder 80 that are snugly fitted therein, one openingtbe'- ing disposed at each end of said :oval lor blank.

The said openings 22 in the blank are separated by a part 213 which extends transversely .of .the narrowerl width .of .the oval and prefenably has its 'opposite marginal,edgessubstantially parallel and straightfwth the ,result .that the adjacent sides .of openings 22 are flattened. The transversely-.extending member A24 is also, provided with a cross-wise .cut 25 vvWhichextends en- .tirely .therethrough on a line at right angles to the said straight edges thereof thus forming two free end portions 2,5.

Therefore, the said blank '20 is such thatit may be pressed into suitable shape, as bya die, .so that 1as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the outer marginal edge portions of said blank may be turned at right. angles to form .a rim-like portion @snugly/ fitting reduced neck'll; 'The inner marginal edge portions are turned 'at right'angles to form `a'r'im-like portion 3`2 to ysnugly embrace 'the bores 'at the -forward end `iace'fof the hfandguard bod-y 2 and -to be substantially-flush land -coplanar with its exterior end surface. Thann-1526 through 'the trans-verse member 24 of the ferrule permits the further bending or the inner and Aadjacent-or Tree-'end portions or wings 25 of the transverse member so @that thesa-m-e "maybe Ibent inwardly into engagement with the Nslots -42 in Ithe ribs IU of the'hand-guardvsolas to vfirmlyl 'secu-re the `ferr-u-le to 'thel guardproper and eiect a rigid assembly. Itis also desirablefthat a rear band f'orferrule be provided and, as shown in Fig: 4, this -likewise 'has lthe general outer 'con'guration of an oval. Band 'llis arranged to be secured to 'the barrel 'l0 "of the weapon by ia pin `S55-inserted through la transverse .-hole 'Stand it'fincludes a rorwardly-protruding, .cylindrically lshaped upper portion 512 `iderning an `,upper opening which the barrel 'It extends withasnug :and a lower :and-amore or less horse-.shoe shaped rorwancuy protruding lower portion 5611 integral .therewith defrningra-n opening 58 through which fthe rgas cylinder 8l! exten-ds.V It will'benoted that the' diameter of opening v5i! is less than the diameter lof bore l2 in :body 2, so that ferrule 50 ceac-ts with ferr-ule 253, positively to'locate body 2 in spaced relation with barrel I-D. `Since :gas cylinder 80 is xed to barrel l0 `at .its rear end Abyvmeans not shown, vbode 2 is held out -fof .contact with both barrel and gas cylinder, and a heat-insulating air space is provided that eiectively prevents heating and .charring 'of .the body. Thus the rear end portion oftherhandguard body .member may .be assembled in l,surrounding relation on Ithe portions 522A and 5B dened by the rear ferrule.

"This construction has 'the' obvious advantage of obviating the customary reducing of the thickness of the wall of the rear end portion of the guard in order to accommodate its association with the rear ferrule, which has always resulted in weakening of the guard at this point.

1. A handguard assembly for a gas loperated firearm having a barrel and gas cylinder adjacent thereto comprising in combination, a, longitudmally-extending tubular member which has its outer surface substantially oval-shaped in cross-,section fand the general contour of its infteriorsurface being that of a pair of overlapping vcircles Aso as to provide upper and lower bore porf tions Jwhich are separated by a relatively narrow longitudinally-extending channel, said upper bore portion being arranged to receive the barrel of :the rearm and the lower bore portion being arranged to'receive the gas cylinder of the firearm, and a ferrule member rigidly secured to the forward end portion of said tubular member and. provided with an, opening 'therethroughand parallel withgthe conigurat'ion,ofv the ,opening through the tubular' member said errule lbeinfg adapted to snugly tthe barrel .and Lg'ascylinlder, and having internal transverse dimensions less thanthe corresponding dimensions of .said member, whereby to'providefa heat-:insulating air 'space between said "body, onthe one hand, and the barrel and gas cylinder, ontheother hand.

2.. A handguardassem'bly for a gas Qpera'ted rearmhaving a kbarrel and a gas cylinder adjacent thereto comprising in combination, .alone gitudinally-jextending "tubular member Whichls substantially oval-shaped in cross-slectfion V,and basan' opening-therethrough in the general cone guration of twov overlapping 'circlesfso as to ,PIQ vide-upper and `lower bore portions which are 'spaced 4apartail-tliough connected, the upper bore portion being larranged to receive A'thebarrel of the Ifirearm andthe lower bore portion beingarranged to receive-the xgas cylinder of theirearm, and -a `metall-ic ferrule lmember'embracing and secured to'the'forward end portion of said -tubu'i'- lar member `said ferrule-h'aving an internal con- -tour o'f lesser 'transverse dimensions tha-r1 theocr- -responding dimensie'nsfof `saidtubu'lar member, said inter-nal contour 'beingV adapted 'to -ltsnug-ly about' fthe barrel andgas -cyl-inder., whereby to hol-d 4said .body 1in spaced relation with thellbaifrel :and gasfeylinder :and provide a heat-:insulating space therebetween;

3. .A handguardv assem'hy/for'ra .firearm com; prism-g .in'combinatiorr a unitary, .substantially :oval-,shaped body member provi'dedfwith la longitudinally-extendinglbore therethrough, :said bore -liavinga general configuration .of two overlapping circles so as to form Yspaced:cominunicating upper and lower fboreportions andw-herieby the- -thicke ness .oftheuwall of fsai'd body member intervY mediate said ybore portions-'is greater that of the' rest -of the wall,- the outer :surface :fof the vforward end portionof theebody smemberybeing externally profiled -so that the .thicknessof the 4wall, thereof is lessthan that of :the Test -of the wal-1 .and a ymetallic' ferrule member :secured to said forward profiled end portion vof thebody memberand including. a plateelike part vdisposed .over the-,face of said yforwardrend portion. fand a-n integral .rim-like .portion embracing the proled ,part of the. body memberssaid ferrulememf berohaving anjdnternal contour ,deiined byftwo overlapping circles of lesser Vc''zmie'tel: ,than .the diametersof the correspondingbores of saidbgdy member, said ferrule being adapted to fit snugly about the barrel of a gun and its adjacent gas cylinder.

4. A handguard assembly for a gas-operated firearm having a barrel and a gas cylinder parallel and adjacent thereto, said handguard comprising a body member having a bore extending longitudinally therethrough, said bore having a cross section generally in the form of two overlapping circles, said circles being -of greater diameter than the diameters of the barrel and gas cylinder, respectively, and a ferrule secured to the forward end of said handguard, said ferrule being constructed and arranged to fit snugly about the ,barrel and gas cylinder and thereby hold the handguard in spaced relation with the barrel and gas cylinder.`

5. A handguard for a gas-operated firearm having a barrel and a gas cylinder adjacent and parallel thereto, a body member substantially elliptical in outer cross section and having a bore extending longitudinally therethrough, said bore having a cross section generally in the shape of a rst pair of overlapping circles substantially larger than the barrel and gas cylinder, respectively, and having their centers separated substantially the same distance as the axes of the barrel and gas cylinder, said -bore having oppositely and transversely disposed slots near the forward end thereof, and an open metallic ferrule secured to and about the forward end of said body member and having an inner opening dened by a second pair of overlapping circles of smaller diameter than said first pair, respectively, said ferrule being adapted to fit snugly about the barrel and gas cylinder, whereby to maintain said member in fixed spaced relation with the barrel and gas cylinder.

6. A handguard assembly for a iirearm having a barrel and a generally cylindrical operating element in spaced parallel relation therewith, a body member having a longitudinally extending bore in the shape of two parallel overlapping cylinders, having their axes spaced the same distance as the barrel and element and of larger radii than the barrel and element, respectively, said bore having oppositely and transversely disposed slots near the forward end thereof, a rst metallic ferrule embracing and secured to, the forward end of said member, a second metallic ferrule secured to and about the rear end of said member, both said ferrules having openings snugly tting the barrel whereby to mount said member with its bore in radially spaced relation with the barrel and element.

7. A handguard as specified in claim 6, said rst ferrule also snugly fitting about said element.

8. A handguard as in claim 6, the forward end of said member being externally reduced to form a shoulder, said ferrule snugly fitting said shoulder and extending over and about the surface of said end and having integral lugs extending from the inner periphery thereof, said lugs engaging within said slots of said member.

9. A handguard for a gas operated rearm having a barrel and a gas cylinder adjacent and parallel thereto, a body member substantially elliptical in outer cross section being reduced at the forward end to form a shoulder and having a bore extending longitudinally therethrough, said bore having a cross section generally in the shape of a rst pair of loverlapping circles substantially larger than the barrel and gas cylinder respectively and having their centers separated substantially the same distance as the axes of the barrel and gas cylinder, said bore having oppositely and transversely disposed slots near the forward end thereof, and an elliptically shaped ferrule being U-shaped in cross section to t over said reduced forward end of said member thereby providing an inner -opening dened by a second pair of overlapping circles of smaller diameter than said first pair respectively adapted to t snugly about the barrel and gas cylinder thereby maintaining said member in xed relationship with the barrel and gas cylinder, said ferrule having integral lugs extending from its inner periphery and into engagement with said slots of said member thereby securing said ferrule and handguard together.

EARLE M. HARVEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

